The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Alexandre Aja

Writers:

Alexandre Aja (screenplay) &
Grégory Levasseur (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 March 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The lucky ones die first.

Plot:

A suburban American family is being stalked by a group of psychotic people who live in the desert, far away from civilization.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Cannibal | Nuclear Testing | Trailer | Gas Station

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Aaron Stanford	...	Doug Bukowski
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Ethel Carter
Vinessa Shaw	...	Lynn Carter
Emilie de Ravin	...	Brenda Carter
Dan Byrd	...	Bobby Carter
Tom Bower	...	Gas Station Attendant
Billy Drago	...	Papa Jupiter
Robert Joy	...	Lizard
Ted Levine	...	Big Bob Carter
Desmond Askew	...	Big Brain
Ezra Buzzington	...	Goggle
Michael Bailey Smith	...	Pluto
Laura Ortiz	...	Ruby
Gregory Nicotero	...	Cyst (as Greg Nicotero)
Maisie Camilleri Preziosi	...	Baby Catherine

Also Known As:

Despertar del diablo (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
The Hills have Eyes - Hügel der blutigen Augen (Austria) (Germany) [de]
У холмов есть глаза (Russia) [ru]
Aima stous lofous (Greece) [el]
Brda imaju oci (Croatia) [hr]
La colline a des yeux (France) [fr]
Las colinas tienen ojos (Spain) [es]
Le colline hanno gli occhi (Italy) [it]
Le visage de la peur (Canada: French title) [fr]
Mägedel on silmad (Estonia) [et]
Sziklák szeme (Hungary) [hu]
Tepenin gözleri (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Viagem Maldita (Brazil) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong gruesome violence and terror throughout, and for language.

Runtime:

107 min | 108 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (edited for re-rating) (certificate #42400) | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Singapore:R21 | UK:18 | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Canada:18A (Nova Scotia) | Norway:18 | Germany:18 | Sweden:15 | New Zealand:R18 | Australia:R | Mexico:D | Argentina:18 | Netherlands:16 | Malaysia:18SG | South Korea:Limited | Portugal:M/18 | Ireland:18 | USA:Unrated (uncut DVD version) | France:-16 | Poland:18 | Brazil:18 | Italy:VM14 | Hungary:18 | Iceland:16 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Japan:R-18 | Finland:K-18 (self applied)

Filming Locations:

Marrakech, Morocco

Company:

Craven-Maddalena Films

Trivia:

About 2 minutes were cut to achieve the R rating.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end, Bobby closes and booby-trap's the trailer doors. After he and his sister have tied an attacking mutants hands to a side trailer window, they climb out the back window and run up a hill. When they look back at the trailer the door is now wide open. Next, the mutant frees himself and we see him open the, now closed, trailer doors setting off the booby-trap.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Gas Station Attendant: Ruby, is that you?

Movie Connections:

Features "Divorce Court" (1999)

Soundtrack:

The Wall

Scary and intense! A remake that beats the original!

We've seen dozens of remakes in the past several years: Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Ring, Dawn of the Dead, The Fog. None could hold a candle next to the original films.

Could it be? After all this time, do we finally found a remake that's actually superior? You're damn right! The Hills Have Eyes is not at all like the other remakes in this ungodly trend. It's not a cheap cash-in. It's a movie made with respect by horror filmmakers for horror fans.

Sure, it has its share of problems: There are too many cheesy false scares, they added a corny patriotic subtext, and it sticks so close to the original that fans will find little in the way of surprises. But it's a leaner, meaner animal than Wes Craven's original film. The characters are more believable, the mutants are scarier, and the whole thing is incredibly visceral! This is the first studio horror film in years that I've liked...mainly because it doesn't feel like a studio horror film.

Funny side note: A girl next to me in the theater was silently weeping through the last half of the movie. Guess it made an impression.